What A Dish

We asked readers and staffers to describe a restaurant favorite that they were eager to make at home. From all the requests, we picked a delectable 15, ranging from sinful chocolate cake to ultra-rich crab mac and cheese. THEN WE ASKED THE CHEFS WHO CREATED THEM TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS--AND THEIR RECIPES.

June 22, 2008

THE DINING OUT ISSUE

1. A promising dessert

Our first visit to Carlos' Restaurant in Highland Park was in 1987 to celebrate an anniversary. The meal was spectacular, but what has stuck with me all these years was the fig sorbet for dessert. It was perhaps the best dessert of that kind I had ever tasted. After dinner I asked about it. Carlos' wife, Debbie, explained they were lucky to have such a talented pastry chef-a young lady named Gale Gand, who has since been part of several successful restaurants. Perhaps she may want to share this recipe. -Jerry Levy, Deerfield

Gale Gand, executive pastry chef and partner, Tru:

A game I like to play in the pastry kitchen is to try to utilize everything that needs using up, without repeating flavors. We probably had a flat of figs that were, how shall I say it, very ripe and needed to be used asap, so I thought the best way to stop the charging train of ripening was to puree, then make sorbet. The likely reason it's not a staple in my repertoire is because figs are pricey, so not usually affordable to use as just sorbet.

FIG SORBET

Serves four

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 cups of fig puree*

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer several seconds, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool completely.

2. Whisk together sugar syrup, fig puree and juice in a bowl. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least two hours.

3. Stir the mixture, then pour it into an ice cream maker. Prepare according to the manufacturer's directions.

*For puree, tumble 16 to 18 fresh, very ripe figs (about 2 pounds) into the bowl of a food processor and puree until relatively smooth (there will be flecks of fig and visible seeds).

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2. The perfect date

Every time we go to Emilio's in Wheaton for tapas, we get the bacon-wrapped dates in red pepper sauce. I do not know the Spanish name for this dish, but you do not need to know Spanish to order it. "Oh, and the dates, of course, please," is what we usually say.

The two of us each eat two and then fight over (or divide precisely in half) the remaining one. This dish qualifies as an appetizer, but for us serves as dessert. Delicious! But how to replicate that sweet, soft, crunchy treat? Please help! -Julie Devane, Wheaton

Ann Marie Gervilla, co-owner, Emilio's Tapas

Here is my favorite tapa! I asked my husband, Emilio, how he came to create it for the menu, and he said he learned the recipe from apprenticing in Mallorca, Spain, as a young line cook. He likes the smokiness of the bacon with the sweet nature of the dates. And it all comes together nicely with the red pepper sauce.

DATILES CON TOCINO

(DATES WITH BACON)

Serves four to six

For the dates:

16 organic dates, pitted

8 slices applewood smoked bacon, cut in half

1. Wrap half a piece of bacon around each date.

2. Bake in 500-degree oven until bacon is done, about 10 minutes.

For the red pepper sauce:

1 roasted red bell pepper (seeded and chopped)

4 cloves chopped garlic

2 shallots, chopped

4 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup of white wine

2 teaspoons of sherry vinegar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 pound of unsalted butter

Pinch of cracked pepper, salt

Chopped parsley for garnish

1. Saute red pepper with garlic and shallots in olive oil.

2. Add wine and vinegar and reduce by half, 7-10 minutes.

3. Slowly stir in the cream and reduce 2 minutes more.

4. Add butter and stir to melt.

5. Scrape into blender and whip until creamy; add salt and pepper.

6. Strain and keep warm until ready to use.

To serve: Spoon some sauce onto a serving plate and arrange dates on top. Garnish with parsley; serve warm.

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3. A persuasive gift

My wife always wanted to go to Tru. I always resisted. Too expensive, I said. Four years ago, I gave in and took her to Tru for her birthday. It was as expensive as I feared but at the end of the night I didn't care. The service was impeccable, the food delicious.

The next year, she suggested a less expensive restaurant for her birthday. "Are you crazy?" I said. "We're going to Tru." Another great meal-I had the braised beef.

It was her birthday, but Tru is my restaurant. -Don Terry, staff writer

Tim Graham, chef de cuisine, Tru

The whole dish is about the quest for umami. I think that if you were to oversimplify what umami meant in the Western vocabulary, it would be "beefiness." This is analogous to what I think the Eastern vocabulary would oversimplify it to-perhaps "unaginess." So the pairing of broiled eel (unagi) with the short rib seemed to be a natural joining of umami-rich items.

The kombu (seaweed) in the beef sauce was added to ramp up the umami factor, as kombu is major carrier of the umami flavor.

(Note: To accommodate the home chef, this version does not use unagi.)